Colorado Christian University's
Clifton Fowler Library went live today on Prospector, Colorado's largest
unified, online catalog for interlibrary loaning and resource sharing. The
integration of CCU -- already a member in the Marmot Library Network -- is part
of a larger plan to bring 15 Marmot libraries into Prospector by the end of
2011. This will nearly double Prospector to 40 libraries that span Colorado's
Western Slope and also the Front Range from Southern Colorado up into
Wyoming.
CCU's addition is particularly attractive because the
University brings an extensive collection of religion, theology, spirituality,
Christianity, biblical-studies, and faith resources -- 40 percent of which are
unique among Marmot libraries and will add to the diversity of the Prospector
catalog.
"Expanding and sharing resources, and making them easier for
library patrons to access, is what this is all about," said Gayle Gunderson, CCU
Library Director. "We're very excited to link into Prospector and it's something
we've wanted to do for a long time."
Prospector is comprised of
academic, public, and special libraries that pool approximately 30 million
items, including books, journals, DVDs, CDs, and other materials. The network
combines the catalogs of each member library, allowing their patrons to request
resources online from any of the members and have them delivered to their home
library in as little as three to five days.
With the integration of
CCU and other Marmot libraries, interlibrary loaning via Prospector is expected
to increase significantly, especially by patrons in the more rural and remote
areas of the Western Slope.
Prospector's growth was funded by a
$226,000 Institute of Museum and Library Services federal grant, the largest of
its type awarded in Colorado last year. Prospector is based on software by
Innovative Interfaces and hosted by the Colorado Alliance of Research
Libraries.